These courses may have been taken by previous Social Work students or may have been identified as of possible interest to Social Work students. Some courses may be restricted and/or not open to Social Work students. There are many other courses not listed offered elsewhere in the university that may be of interest. Interest in courses numbered below 500 should be checked for graduate level status since many are only offered for undergraduate credit. You can check this by contacting the department offering the course or contacting the SSW Registrar.
The information may not be up to date or complete. Please seek additional information from the department where the course is offered and from the instructors of the course. We strongly recommend you discuss your plans to take outside courses with your advisor to make sure they are a good fit for your educational program.
| School: | Education |
|---|---|
| Course Description: | Many national organizations have defined the K-16 'pipeline' as a set of steps that must be taken by students who aspire to attend college. Typically this includes taking preparatory courses in high school, taking college entrance exams, and applying to college and for student aid. Based in part on studies that have considered correlations among variables related to these steps and college outcomes, some states have revised high school graduation requirements and implemented new encouragement and financial aid programs. In this seminar students will examine the policy agendas of various national advocacy groups, as well as the research on which they base their arguments. The course will also explore more complex policy issues and research related to: educational improvement in elementary, middle and high schools; postsecondary transitions, including mentoring, information services and student aid; and programs that encourage and support student engagement and success in colleges. Students and faculty will also explore how advocacy and research are used in, and influence, formulation and revision of education and finance policies in states and at the federal level. We will explore the current political landscape in education, examine political agendas, consider the research designed to support the underlying rationales and consider ways to better conduct research designed to address policy questions. Students will examine and compare research that has been completed by NCES and other groups to inform policy as well as research that evaluates the effects of policies and reform programs. Interestingly, while many groups espouse policy agendas related to K-16 reform, very few studies actually assess the linkages between these policies (i.e., accountability, standards, graduate requirements, etc.) and the outcomes they are designed to influence The seminar will have five separate segments. During the initial sessions(weeks 1-2) we will focus on cross-cutting issues, as well as the overall course design. The remainder of the course will be approached as four modules covering: national policy agendas (weeks 3-5); research used to rationalize policy agendas (weeks 6-8); specific reform topics in K-12, college transitions, and college success (weeks 9-11); research related to the selected reform topics (weeks 12-14). During the last two modules, students will work on independent projects and share their work with each other. Extensive readings will be available through web linkages and there will be guest speakers will consider research and policy agendas, as well as disciplinary perspectives (from economics, sociology, education and policy studies) on policy analysis and research. |
| Section | Instructor | Days | Location | U-M Class # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 003 | Bowman, Phillip Jess | - | 2328 SEB | 24616 |
| 004 | Lattuca, Lisa Rose | Mon | ARR | 32005 |
University of Michigan
School of Social Work
1080 South University Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106